LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 100

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a day of unimaginable joy. We will see His face. We will
behold His hands, His side. “With what rapture, with
what rapture, with what rapture, gaze we on those
glorious scars.” 13 The promise of Jesus to His disciples
before His death and resurrection rings out to us as
well, as we await this great Day: “You have sorrow now,
but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).
Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal. The joy He
gives will never, ever, ever end. Article XVII of the
Augsburg Confession pertains to Christ’s Return for
Judgment. That article raised no objections from the
Roman Catholic authorities. And so in the Apology,
Article XVII, the Reformers simply repeat with little
elaboration but with no little importance this glorious
truth that on the Last Day Jesus Christ will return in
judgment, and He will give “eternal life and everlasting
joys” to His people. 14
Joy is the will of God. And true, lasting joy is given in
Christ Jesus.
3. THIS JOY IS FOR YOU
A third aspect of Christian joy is this: this joy is for you.
The heart of Lutheran theology is not merely that
Christ brings joyous forgiveness to sinners in general,
but that He brings this joy to you.
You baptized child of God; the joy of God in Christ is for
you. Rejoice always, for your name is written in heaven. 15
A life-giving water, rich in grace, has been splashed on
you. The name of the Triune God has been placed on
you. Joy is God’s will in Christ Jesus for you.
In Holy Absolution as well, this joy is for you. C.F.W.
Walther says about the Absolution, that having received
it, we should go out shouting joyfully, “No devil shall
question my salvation!” 16 And regarding the Lord’s
Supper, Walther says: “By the words “for you” … [Christ]
was reminding them that they ought to explode with joy
and gladness because the ransom that would be paid for
the sins of the whole world was … being put in their
mouths.”17 In Christ’s sacraments, joy is given for you.
So also with the divine Word. Walther observes: “The
only way you can obtain the Holy Spirit is simply by
believing the Word of God. Even if you feel nothing but
still say, ‘God said it; I believe it!’ then you will notice
that the Holy Spirit has moved into your heart and that
you will be filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!” 18
And so God brings you His Word. On sacred page, in
sacred pulpit, on the lips of Christian brother or sister
— the Word of God, the Word so full of Christ, enters
your ears and brings joy for you.
100 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION

In His Word and Sacraments, God gives these joyous
gifts and promises surely, directly, and specifically FOR
YOU because God knows how weak you are, how weak
your faith is, how hard it is for you to see the joy, find
the joy, feel the joy, express the joy of Christ in the
throes of life and in the muck of your own sinful heart.
Luther himself, although he commended a joyous
disposition, openly admitted how faint Christian joy
sometimes was in his own heart. During the Advent
season of 1543, Luther lamented: “I am intensely
displeased with myself and detest myself because I
know that all that Scripture says about Christ is true
and that there is nothing greater, nothing more
important, nothing more pleasant, nothing more
joyful. It should fill me with supreme joy … yet the
malice of my own flesh prevents it, and the law of sin
has so thoroughly taken me captive that I cannot fill all
my members, all my bones, and my innermost being
with this blessing of Christ as I surely would like to
do.” 19
Truly, Luther speaks for all of us. The Apostle’s
exhortation, “Rejoice always,” is so fitting, it is so
proper, it is so warranted, but we are weak. So again
and again, God comes to us in His Means of Grace,
rekindling and renewing His Spirit-worked joy in
Christ for you.
And though, like Luther, our joy may be merely a
beginning in this life, inconsistent, even at times
detestable in its faintness, on the day of resurrection,
Christ will perfect the joy of your heart. In that day, we
will finally feel and express the joy of the redeemed as
we should. We will finally heed Paul’s exhortation in its
fullness: Rejoice always. We confess this hope
beautifully in the Formula of Concord, which reads:
“[At the Resurrection], just as people will see God faceto-face, so they will — through the power of God’s
indwelling Spirit — do the will of God with unmingled joy,
voluntarily, unconstrained, without any hindrance,
and with entire purity and perfection. They will rejoice in it
eternally.” 20 On that day, God’s gift of joy, in Christ, for
you, will reach its goal, and the joy of your heart will
never, ever fade or fail through endless ages.
4. THIS ETERNAL JOY CAN SHINE IN DAILY LIFE
Fourth, this eternal joy shines even now in the daily lives
of Christians. Paul exhorts us, “Rejoice always.” And
that includes every aspect of daily life: our prayers, our
vocations, our home and family life.
It is interesting that in Luther’s catechisms, the theme
of joy emerges most consistently in his discussion of
the daily prayers and the Commandments.
Convention Essays